The highlight for many folks will be the 60th Anniversary Gala where Kirk Bennion, the Exterior Design Manager of the 2014 Corvette Stingray, will be guest speaker Friday night as the C7 makes its West Coast debut during the gala dinner.

Bennion plans to talk about the new Stingray’s break from tradition and he’ll offer insight into the design process and answer questions about a car that has stirred significant interest around the world.

The public will have an opportunity to see the C7 on Saturday at the museum, which is located at 6060 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.

The 60th Anniversary Corvette Celebration also will include the Corvette Car Day Show, an exhibit inside the museum that will include the rarest examples of each generation, including the very first Corvette EX-122 that debuted at the GM Motorama in 1953, as well as a series of educational panels featuring Corvette legends and industry experts.

If you can’t make it on March 1 and 2, the Petersen Museum will continue to host a special exhibit of Corvettes from every generation, along with significant vehicles from history, through March 31. The exhibit will include the 1953 EX-122, 1956 SR2, 1959 Corvette Italia, 1960 CERV I, 1964 “World’s Fair” Corvette, 1963 Grand Sport, and a 1968 “Sundowner” Bonneville Racecar.

Mitch Talley has loved Corvettes since he was just 8 years old. He's owned 10 Corvettes since 1983, including examples from the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth generations. His goal is to own first, second, and seventh generation cars someday. He and his son, Chris, also a Corvette enthusiast, served as Captains of the 2014 Georgia Corvette Caravan.